Jughead/Theories
Faraday's Abandoned Laboratory (2007) There might be nothing to this theory but there seems to be a potential discontinuity in the timeline of “Jughead”. Desmond goes to Oxford in 2007 and we assume that from the perspective of Widmore and the rest of the “real world” that Faraday went to the Island in 2004 and then vanished into time. But his lab is still somewhat intact, his equipment is still there and the janitor indicates he has been working on the “fumigation” until recently. He also hints ‘Others’ have been to the lab in the intervening years. Why would Oxford wait 3 years to proceed with cleaning out his lab and getting rid of the equipment... especially if Faraday was involved in a scandal? One would think the University would work quickly to eradicate any trace of him. Perhaps Faraday is destined to escape the Island and return to the “real world” closer in time to 2007 where he will return to his lab under an alias (a la John Locke/Jeremy Bentham) and request that specific attic lab to continue his work but leave before encountering Desmond. *Perhaps the lab isn't functional any more, not even the room itself can be used. They've kept it closed up for what appears to be years, maybe there is left over radiation that people need to stay away from so they've just abandoned that room all together? ** The "janitor" said they weren't really fumigating, and Widmore is heavily involved with Faraday. Maybe he has paid a lot of money to make sure the lab remains untouched and all questions about Faraday and the lab unanswered so as to hide any connection to the Island or the things that are done on/because of the Island. * Faraday's research at Oxford has been funded by Widmore for years. Widmore is persuading the university to keep Faraday's lab space preserved as-is while Faraday is on a sabbatical. Widmore may also be donating a significant amount of money to the university to ensure that Faraday's work remains a secret, thus keeping the lab from being cleaned out. *The janitor himself was the only person that really knew anything about what Daniel was supposedly doing in that room. It's possible that not even the university knew about that room and what took place in it, and that the school was the primary reason for the fumigation cover up. Daniel stated in that he conducted experiments that Oxford "frowned upon" which indicates that if they knew that he was in there conducting experiments they would have shut him down. What Daniel did to Theresa became known to Oxford which removed his name from their records, but it's possible that no connection was made between Theresa and the room, thereby enabling Daniel to continue keeping it a secret. Perhaps it was assumed that Daniel experimented on her at some other location. ** The janitor obviously isn't a janitor. Perhaps one of Widmore's men. As for the reason Faraday is no longer in the Oxford records and the room is completely locked up and the fumigation front is put on is because Widmore is paying a lot of money to make sure that all of that info stays hidden. We all know he has the money and the desire to make sure that what is real and what people think is real falls in line with what he wants. *A lab in a university is hardly unusual. Not removing the lab itself is not suspicious and neither is deciding to clear the space to make room for something else at a later time. The Selection Of Leadership *Part of the leadership test is selecting the Compass from a line up of objects. **There is no inherent significance to the compass other than that is the object Richard gave to Locke to give back to himself in the past. **Richard subjects Locke to this test at a young age in . **Richard is upset when Locke chooses the Knife. ***Richard is upset because the knife originally belonged to the U.S. troops that came and fought "the Others." If it were Locke's it would mean that he was against them and not in their camp. **** Locke's subconscious chose the compass first (the right choice), but his childish desires ultimately led him to choose the knife (as a child, he may have believed he would get to keep the object he chose). As we have seen, off the island, Locke often makes bad choices. ***** Richard is upset because he is following Locke's statement that he is the future leader of the others. He claims that they have a very specific selection process and that it starts at a young age. As a leader for the others it seems obvious that you must have direction, you must be able to find your way, IE the compass. Then there is the sand, which represents the earth. You must be in touch with the earth, with the spiritual side of things, you must be able to believe that there is more to the world around you than just what the eye can see. And Lastly, the Book of Laws. Locke chooses the knife, which represents war and betrayal, and most of all violence. Locke claims he is a hunter, but has been told at numerous times in his life that He is something else, and that he only wants to be a hunter. Locke should have chosen the Book of Laws, which represents the ability to follow a code, to lead a peoples, to protect and lead in an organized and lawful manner. ***** The Book of Law is an Aleister Crowley book on the occult which has had a lot of inspiration on satanic philosophy. The primary law is "do as thou wilt." As such, it's really more of an anti-law/organization symbol. * The Book of Laws is another name for the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the central book of the Bahá'í Faith. The faith emphasizes the spiritual unity of all humankind, supporting the theory that the leader should choose the book. **Locke has been told numerous times that he is a hunter; he's not just making these claims himself. In the sweat lodge at the commune, his vision showed him as a hunter. Mr. Eko told him he was a hunter after being rescued from the polar bear cave. Also, how does a knife represent betrayal? ***A knife in the back. *Selection of leadership begins at a very young age. Perhaps all children who come in contact with the Others are tested for leadership, including Aaron, Walt, Alex, Charles Widmore, and possibly Annie at some point. Walt was most likely going to be chosen as the new leader of the Island before being let go, and will probably be up for leadership again. **If Walt was being selected for leadership, his selection process was fairly unique in that Ben (claiming to be under the direction of Jacob) sent Walt to Room 23 (according to the mobisode "Room 23"). Later, Beatrice Klugh threatens Walt with putting him in "the room" again, most likely referring to Room 23 (episode "Three Minutes"). This indicated that she considered the room to be punishment for Walt and therefore a suitable threat. This seems much different than the extremely benign test given to Locke. Later when Michael and Walt are allowed off the Island, Ben commented that Walt was "more than we bargained for". As to what that means is up for debate. Did Walt fail the tests in the same way that young Locke failed his test? *The Selection of Leadership is chosen from two candidates born within a few years time or less of each other. It can be seen with the current leaders from the Losties' native time - Ben and Locke. The children that the others had among their group, Alex, Karl, Emma, and Zach, may be preliminary choices of candidate pairs. There is a possibility that Widmore and Ellie are the candidate pair in training from 1950's era, due to both of them having a position of sub-leader among the Others. **Locke was born in 1956. Ben was born ~10 years later, long after Richard Alpert had begun recruiting Locke (because Locke told him Jacob sent him in 1954). ***Ben was born in the early 60's. **Hawking may have been chosen as the leader of her era, as Ben seems to act differently toward her, looking to her for guidance. The only other person we have ever seen Ben look to for guidance is Jacob. **Richard Alpert appears to be instrumental in Selection of Leadership, which could require the island to keep him ageless- he has "work to do." **The need for candidate pairs could be the reason the fertility issues were so important for the Others to solve. **Out of desperation, the Others may have resorted to searching outside of the island and stealing the children of those who landed on the island to find candidate pairs. **Aaron and Ji Yeon could be the next set of candidate pairs. This is part of why Ben says that everyone has to go back. ***But Ji Yeon wasn't even born on the Island. ****But Ji Yeon was conceived on the Island, and thus, was at one point on the island. **Something may have happened to split Ellie, presumably Eloise Hawking, and Widmore to opposite sides of a conflict over control of the island, with the result being what we see today. Widmore is still trying to get back to the island in the Losties' era to attempt to take the place of leader that he feels he deserves. ***There is a running theme of destiny in Lost. Jack and Locke disagree on fate. Jack is a man of science and believes in human control. Locke believes in fate, and that something divine has control of the world. The same could be said of Widmore & Ben. Widmore may want to get back to the island to claim his rightful place as leader, when it was usurped by Ben. Ben (and Ms. Hawking and Faraday) believe that the past cannot be changed. That what is past is destiny and out of human control. ****Ben could be of a different generation than Widmore. Hawking could be the one who "usurped" power from Widmore. If Ben were to be placed as leader as recently as the early 90's, how would Widmore have been able to raise Penny, who seems to be absent of a mother, amass his fortune, and put himself into the position of under-worldly power that he seems to hold? Also, an attitude like seen with young Widmore is the precursor to insubordination, which would greatly reduce his chance of being chosen as the leader. In their generation, it was Hawking vs. Widmore, and that to this day, he hasn't let it go. However, his quarrel stays with the leader, whom he will always blame for taking everything that is "his" until he either dies or takes it back. *Similar to monarchy: A king needs a queen to bear him a son so as to continue the lineage. Ben was sizing up Juliet to be his queen on the island, etc. Widmore and Ellie were suppose to play that role but something happened to break them up. That's why a male and female are cast into the leadership role. **Locke is assigned as the the leader of the island without having any female companion. **Seems possible it would have something to do with "Adam and Eve", the two bodies found in the cave. *The Island's leadership is a form of trinity. Whether it is holy or unholy is hard to say. Jacob serves as the powerful unseen godlike being of the Island, while Richard is the sort of "Son" of Island/Jacob, which is likely one of the reasons he appears to be immortal. The chosen leader of the Others serves as a prophet (false prophet?) figure. He is the one who determines the will of Jacob/The Island, and preaches that will to the Others. **It's more likely that Jacob equates to the 'holy ghost,' Richard equates to the (ageless) 'father,' and the chosen leader represents the 'son.' The 'son,' of course, being an ambassador from this trinity to the lay people. ***The son also being the one who needs to sacrifice himself (Ben leaving the Island, Locke needing to die). **If there is a Biblical analogy here, it's in the relationship between John the Baptizer and Jesus. Richard is the John figure, who prepares the way for the coming of his Leader, assembling a ready-made group of followers while keeping an eye out for the promised Savior. That there has been a succession of leaders but only one Richard suggests that those leaders turned out not to be "Him" after all. Doubtless Ben and any of his successors who might still be living are eager to get back to the Island and prove themselves. ***John the Baptist's followers were not a ready-made group to follow Jesus. After John baptized him, Jesus built his own following. This comparison does not hold. ****The comparison holds fine. Perhaps "ready-made" is a bad adjective, but John the Baptist had a small following, many of whom began to follow Jesus after His baptism. Jesus' group grew to be much larger, of course, and some of John's original group stayed with him, but this doesn't hurt the analogy much. * Locke actually passed Alpert's test; his reaction was one of fear in Cabin Fever (that Locke was telling the truth on the island), not disappointment. Obviously, Locke would be too young for him to be whisked away to the island, but the fact that Locke was offered a position in Mittelos shows that he was being actively pushed to get on the Island to fulfill his role. ** That seems to be reaching. If you watch Cabin Fever, Richard clearly looks away, very disappointed, snatches the knife from him, and says "No it doesn't." Before this also, he seems very hopeful when Locke eyes the Book of Laws. The reason why he offers him the job at Mittelos later is, as he says when he's leaving "John's not ready for our school yet." Perhaps by the time Locke was a teenager Richard thought he might be "ready." *** The fact that Locke is not "ready" is because Richard does not know WHEN Locke is supposed to come to the island, only that he eventually makes it there. This is the reason efforts are still being made when Locke is in high school to bring him to the island, they assumed he should be leader much longer than he has been. This gap in leadership could also be the opportunity for Ben to take charge. * One thing that everyone is overlooking from the Cabin Fever episode is Matthew Abaddon's role in Locke's coming to the Island. Don't forget that Abaddon suggested "The next time you and I run into each other...you'll owe me one." To me, this suggests that Locke runs into Abaddon in the past on the Island (which is how Abaddon knew that they would meet up again). John Locke and Richard Alpert *Richard goes to extensive lengths to confirm John's 'Chosen One' status, rejecting the possibility on at least one occasion, by keeping an eye on him throughout the years. John is only truly accepted as special by the Others when they learn that he's healed from his paralysis on the Island, to say nothing of his surviving being shot by Ben. So, in effect, John 'proves' his 'chosen' status more than he creates it. *There is plenty of evidence that Locke is special. He was healed by the Island twice, he can hear Jacob, he can see and hear Christian. **The island heals people who deserve to be healed, or are doing what the Island needs them to do or are not a threat to the Island. Jack got sick when he was trying to "get his people off the island" when he never should have been doing that. Ben got sick because he wasn't doing something correctly, or fell out of favor with the Island. *When Locke speaks to Richard in 1954 and tells him he is the new leader of the Others, Richard does not believe him. So as we know Locke tells him he will be born in 2 years in 1956, and asks Richard to pay him a visit. And as we all know Richard does indeed visit Locke when he is born, as seen in Cabin Fever. So I think the reason Richard was there when Locke was born is because Locke himself told Richard to visit him. So basically it's a Time Loop. And when Richard tests Locke with the items, he was seeing if Locke could truly become the future leader of the Others. *Alpert first visited Locke because their encounter in 1954. He was counting on Locke to choose the compass because that was what Locke tries to use to get Richard to recognize him. Child Locke knows no better and chooses the knife because he is wired as a hunter. Alpert was disappointed because this may have taken credibility away from the idea that Locke was going to be the future leader. Alpert gives Locke the compass in the future, not counting the possibility that Locke would travel to a time when the compass would mean nothing to Richard. **Child Locke does pick the compass. He picks the compass, the sand, and the knife. The implication of the scene is that he should have chosen the book instead of the knife. The 1954 Army/Other's Camp Why Do The Others Speak Latin? *Latin may be, as Juliet said, the "enlightened language" but it is also a "dead" unchanging language. This could be useful for people who travel through time and space and/or never age. But it's odd that we've never heard it spoken on the island in four previous seasons. :*The Blast Door Map, created by Radzinsky, featured many Latin phrases. :*They speak Latin only around those who are not part of their group, or with whom they do not wish to share information with. Thus far, all communication we have seen them engage in has either been amongst themselves, or with/for the benefit of people outside the group. Even in 1954 they do not speak Latin with each other - only when having a private conversation in the presence of outsiders. ::*The Others are speaking Latin in 1954 - before DHARMA was on the scene. They maintained a secret language (for a long time) in case they needed it? No, it is more likely they are a group that use Latin in conversational form as part of their normal life. Who does that? I believe it may be from a religious group. It has been said elsewhere that Latin is still the an official language of the Vatican. ::*Bea Klugh shouted at Mikhail in Russian to kill her and himself in order to "not let them...get into the territory" (Russian: "Мы не дадим им пройти на территорию") (Enter 77) * It has been pointed out that the Latin they are speaking is 'vulgar' or 'common' Latin. Perhaps Richard, being ageless, taught this language to the others because he spoke it growing up. ** He would have to be at least 1000 years old for him to grow up in the environment where Vulgar Latin was spoken. That's not even Black Rock old, that's way way older. *** Exactly. He's as old as the four toed statue. All roads lead to him being extremely old. * It's most likely for a functional purpose: the odds of an invader coming to the Island speaks Latin are very low, since it is a dead language. Since anyone could come to the island (People of English, French, American, Iraqi and Korean descent have all been to the island.) The Others would need a language that would Ben ensured to not be understood by invaders. ** Again, I would like to point out that in 1954 most people in America and Europe where required to study Latin. It was far from a secret language. ** The international language in Europe is English for quite some time now. ** Yes, Latin is functional as a "secret" language, but why not something like Navahoe? Using Latin specifically would point to several aspects of the Others; they are very old, they are classically educated, they are European-orientated. * To reference another time, in the European Renaissance of early 1600's, the "enlightened" would share information in Latin, the language of the educated. * Apollo was the Sun god, but also the god of enlightenment, bringing light (understanding) to the dark (ignorant) places. This made me think - the 4-toed statue has been thought of as a pointer to the time period of when the statue was created. But if a group were to create a statue to a Greek or Roman god, wouldn't that god be wearing sandles? So other than being old, it is not a way to tell who or exactly how old that group of people may have been. ** In Greek and Roman art gods were usually depicted naked and therefore would not be wearing sandals *It's just a "universal" language that can be used by many no matter what time or location your in, the language does not change so it would be the perfect choice *Juliet's choice of the phrase "language of the enlightened" is not at all accidental. The Latin plural for enlightened is "Illuminati," supposedly a secret society (Google for details). She is comparing the Others to this secret society. *The Man in Black's ancient dagger is a roman pugio. Perhaps he and Jacob are the same age, from the same place - Rome around the first century AD. They both originally spoke vulgar Latin, hence that is the language of the Others. **Well done. Turns out they're exactly the same age as they're twins. The Origin of the Others *All of the Hostiles that we have met have English accents. These people are what remains of the descendants the crew of the Black Rock. The Island gave them somewhat, immortality, and have been there ever since, and knew Latin and kept it. **Of all people, Black Rock's crew would be less likely to be familiar with Latin. Vulgar Latin disappeared hundreds of years before Black Rock and ship crews usually are not men of science and scholarship who might known Classical Latin. Theresa * Theresa seems to have been unstuck in time for a long time, possibly years. However, this has obviously not killed her for some reason. Everyone, except Desmond, that we've seen on the show up to this time has died from being unstuck in time after a short period of time. If one finds his/her Constant: ** He/she stops experiencing consciousness shifting. ** He/she may continue experiencing consciousness shifting but is no longer threatened by it. * Theresa's semi-comatose state recalls Daniel's state with an attendant nurse when he was recruited for the 815 freighter mission and didn't know why he was crying to see the plane at the bottom of the ocean. Theresa's sister's remarks suggest she is not always traveling elsewhere--that perhaps she is occasionally lucid. The Compass See The Compass Theories es:Jughead/Theories